Yesterday, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign sent this letter to Prime Minister David Cameron. It was drafted in response to the Ankara bombing and the UK government’s continued support for President Erdogan, despite all evidence of his divisive and dangerous politics that has threatened the very stability of Turkey – and Syria. We call on him to urge Turkey to heed the PKK’s ceasefire and return to the peace process immediately.

In just a few days, the letter was signed by 95 of our campaign’s long-time supporters, as well as friends of the Kurdish movement from across the world. We have published the letter and signatories below in full.

Rt Hon David Cameron MP
Prime Minister

21 October 2015

Open letter to David Cameron on UK policy towards Turkey

Dear Prime Minister,

You sent words of condolences to President Erdogan on the news of last week’s twin suicide bombing at the trade union organised peace rally in Ankara which left over 100 people dead and many more mutilated. Erdogan himself however has shown no signs of grieving, compassion or humility in response to this latest in what has been a series of horrific attacks on mainly Kurdish political organisations in recent months.

The scene of carnage in Ankara was so appalling that it has traumatised the nation which was still barely recovering from the aftermath of July’s massacre of students in the border town Suruc which left more than 30 victims of another ISIS-inspired suicide bombing.

The reality is that it is the Kurds who have been bearing the brunt of these attacks from terrorist groups linked to ISIS and al Qaeda who appear to freely operate inside Turkey. At best, it is a failure of security, but many Kurds have concluded that these incidents are manifestations of the work of what is called the “deep state”, accusing the authorities of collaboration with the terrorists.

Suspicions turned to anger when Turkish leaders refused to accept any responsibility for security lapses and even sought to blame the PKK for the attack in Ankara, which is bizarre in the extreme. Most of the victims were Kurds and they were all calling for the resumption of peace talks between the government and the PKK to end the violence. It is absurd to suggest that the PKK would have had any involvement in such a brutal attack.

The massacre has exacerbated the deep divisions that have opened up in Turkish society in the months following the June election which left the AKP falling short of an absolute majority to rule alone. The sectarian policies pursued by the government, particularly since the election, have contributed to the renewed conflict and the divisions in Turkish society are today clear for all to see. Erdogan needs to be challenged on where he is taking the country. Erdogan is a very divisive figure and has even been described by Turkish novelist, Elif Shafak, as “the most divisive leader in Turkish history”.

The prospects of peace with the Kurds have been squandered mainly through Erdogan’s Machiavellian machinations and his obsession with changing the country’s constitution in order to give more power to himself as the president. The victory of the pro-Kurdish HDP in June’s election enraged Erdogan who saw it as an obstacle to be removed at all cost, rather than grasped as an opportunity to resolve the Kurdish conflict by democratic means. Talks with jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan had been put on hold before the election, but now there is little sign of Erdogan wanting to return to the negotiating table any time soon, if at all.

Conflict has been deliberately stoked for political gain in a grotesquely irresponsible and cynical way. As such, Kurdish people have been right to question the timing of the Ankara bombings which came within hours of the announcement from the PKK of a ceasefire. This offer of a halt to the conflict which has claimed an estimated 700 lives in the past few months was immediately rejected by the Turkish government and its bombing of Kurdish positions in Iraq was actually stepped up.

The reality is clear for all to see: Erdogan and the AKP are obstructing the achievement of peace not only in their own country but in Syria too where they are pursuing a sectarian war against the Syrian Kurds who are fighting ISIS.

The UK must realise that Turkey’s current policies are deeply divisive and fuelling conflict at home and abroad. It is high time that Turkey’s allies ended their silence on Erdogan’s abuses of power and authoritarian rule. In this respect it is deeply dismaying that the EU seems prepared to make so many concessions to Turkey in order to seal a deal on the Syrian refugees. Turning a blind eye to Erdogan’s increasing authoritarian regime will be a recipe for disaster and simply ensures even greater instability in the region. We will all pay a very heavy price indeed.

The UK needs to tell Erdogan to return to the peace process with the Kurds and to call a halt to its divisive sectarian policies, stop bombing the Kurds and end its curbs on human rights. Only this course of action can end the climate of fear and start to heal the ruptures that are today tearing Turkey apart.

Yours sincerely,

Estella Schmid, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign

David Morgan, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign

Melanie Sirinathsingh, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign

Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales

Derek Wall, International Coordinator of the Green Party of England and Wales

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